Apparatus for supporting and folding pleated fabric

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for supporting and unloading pleated drapery panels from a drapery pleating and finishing machine. An elongated frame operable to be removably positioned beneath a pleated drapery panel includes a series of interconnected isosceles links forming a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;lazy tong&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; mechanism. Slender pins or rods, comprising the pivot axes of the interconnected links forming the lazy tong, extend into the folds of the drapery to support the same and keep the folds in the formed position. The lazy tong mechanism is operable to be contracted to bring the folds closely adjacent each other thereby facilitating handling of the drapery panel without distorting the folds while the panel is removed from the machine. The supporting apparatus is pivotally secured to a toggle action clamp which is operable to removably fasten the apparatus to the pleating machine.

United States Patent 1 [72] Inventor John T. Boyes 1834 Maine St.,Quincy, 111. 62301 [21] Appl. No 875,022 [22] Filed Nov. 10, 1969 [45]Patented July 6, 1971 [54] APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING AND FOLDING PLEATEDFABRIC 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl .l 223/32, 269/86 [51] Int. Cl A4111 43/00, D06j 1/00 [50]Field 01 Search 223/1, 28-35, 51; 269/86, 37,153, 315, 289, 91, 291,296, 308, 309

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,058,634 10/1962 Wieneke223/28 3,147,895 9/1964 Boyes 223/51 3,154,228 l0/l964 Klint..... 223/323,297,215 1/1967 Soto 223/28 3,424,356 1/1969 Gretchcll 223/32 3,445,0445/1969 Boyes 223/32 3,506,169 4/1970 Hales 223/32 PrimaryExaminer-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-Geo. V. LarkinArtorney-Michael E. Martin ABSTRACT: Apparatus for supporting andunloading pleated drapery panels from a drapery pleating and finishingmachine. An elongated frame operable to be removably positioned beneatha pleated drapery panel includes a series of interconnected isosceleslinks forming a flazy tong" mechanism. Slender pins or rods, comprisingthe pivot axes of the interconnected links forming the lazy tong, extendinto the folds of PATENTEUJUL slsm 3.591.061

SHEET 2 OF 3 PATENTED JUL 6|97| sum 30F 3 .591.061

APPARATUS ronsuaro arme AND rounnc PLEATED FABRIC I BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION Draperies and similar large pleated fabrics present aparticular problem in the fabric cleaning industry in that, due to theirsize, they are difficult to handle for pressing-and restoring the pleatsor soft folds. These folds as well as the general shape of a draperypanel are lost in the cleaning process. Improved apparatus for restoringshape and for forming pleats in drapery panels and the like is disclosedin applicants U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,147,895 and 3,445,044 issued Sept. 8,I964 and May 20, I969 respectively. The apparatus disclosed in theabovementioned patents includes spaced ,apart clamping mechanisms whichare movable relative to each other to stretch and suspend a draperypanel for conditioning by exposing the panel to live steam from a steamtable beneath the panel. The action of the steam causes the fabric totake a semipermanent set in the shape formed by the pleating machinewhereby soft folds so formed enhance the appearance of a hung drapery.

A longstanding problem in the pleating of draperies concernspreservation of the pleats and the pressed condition of the fabricafterthe pleating process is finished. Draperies, being large andcumbersome, are extremely difficult to remove manually from conditioningapparatus of the general type referred to herein. Handling of the panelupon release from the suspended position usually results in at leastpartial destruction of the soft folds and the formation of unsightlywrinkles. Moreover, the handling procedure often requires two or threepersons to remove the drapery from the pleating machine and place it onahanger. It is also, of course, necessa- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention provides supportingand foldingmeans for pleatedfabrics such asdraperies and the like which is operable to be used incombination with a fabric pleating apparatus. The presentinventionprovides means for supporting and folding aconditioned drapery panelwhich has had semipermanent folds formed by .a conditioning apparatus ofthe type wherein spaced apart clamping mechanisms are operable toreleasably suspend the panel over a-steam table.

The present invention further provides for'means for unloading a pleateddrapery panel or the like from a pleating apparatus and for transportingsaid pleated panel without destroying the finished condition thereof.

In the present invention there is provided an elongated frame supportinga plurality of rods which comprise in part the pivot axes of a lazy tongmechanism. The supporting apparatus is operable to be transverselypositioned with respect to the folds formed in a suspended drapery panelwhereby the rods extend between the folds to support the panel. The lazytong mechanism is operable to be contracted to bring the plural softfolds immediately adjacent each other to thereby facilitate removal ofthe panel from the pleating apparatus and transfer of the panel to anappropriate hanger without incurring wrinkles or distorting the pleats.The present invention also includes a clamping means pivotally attachedto the supporting apparatus and adaptable to releasably clampthesupporting apparatus to a pleating machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a plan view of a draperypleating machine with the supporting apparatus of the present inventionmounted thereon.

F FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation taken generally along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 isa side elevation, partially sectioned, of the supportingapparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the supporting apparatus showing the clampingmeans for removably mounting the apparatus on the pleating machine.

FIG. 5 is a partial bottom view of the supporting apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a detail section view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT pleating machine 10 includesaframe 12 comprising elongated channels 14 and transverse members 16,one shown. The

,frame 12 is adapted to be mounted on vertical legs I7. The

machine 10 includes finishing means including steam headers 18 and 20which are mounted transversely at opposite ends of the frame 12 and areinterconnected by a series of steam pipes 22 running parallelsubstantially the length of the machine. The steam pipes 22 include aseries of spaced apertures, not shown, for emitting steam under aforaminous sheet 24 which serves to diffuse and distribute the emittedsteam. The machine 10 includes a pair of spaced apart clampingmechanisms 26 and 28. The clamping mechanism 26 includes a stationaryplatform 30 and a movable clamping member 32. The member 32 is operableto bemoved by a pressure fluid actuator 34 mounted on a support 36. Theclamping mechanism 26 also includes a series of spaced pleat forms 38and pleat fills 40 of whichonly a representative number are shown'inFIG. 2. The forms 38 and fills 40 are cooperable with the clampingmember 32 and platform 30 to releasably hold a drapery panel 42 in theclamped position shown and comprise means for forming a series ofequally spaced soft folds 44 in line with pennanent sewnpleats, notshown, formed adjacent one end of the panel.

The clamping mechanism 28 is of similar construction to the clampingmechanism 26 but is mounted on a longitudinally movable carriage 46whereby the drapery panel 42 may be stretched to a suspended positionabove the foraminous sheet 24. The clamping mechanisms 26 and 28 areoperable to releasably clamp the panel 42 by means of their respectivemovable clamping members and cooperating forms and fills. Completeconstructional and operational details of the pleating machine 10 aredisclosed in'applicants U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,l47,895 and3,445,044 referredto previously herein. Although the present invention is advantageouslyused in combination with the pleating machine. 10 it is contemplatedthat any .pleating apparatus including means operable to releasablysuspend a drapery panel to form-foldsmay benefit from using thesupporting and folding apparatus disclosed herein.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 a drapery handling apparatus 48 is shownpositioned transversely on the frame 12 of the pleating machine 10approximately midway between the clamping mechanisms 26 and 28 andbeneath the drapery panel 42. The supporting apparatus 48 includes anelongated frame 50 preferably formed of structural aluminum channel. Theframe 50 has a pair of longitudinal slots 52 running substantially thelength thereof. (see FIG. 5) The slots 52 serve as guide means for amovably mounted system of interconnected isosceles or equal length linksforming what is known in the art of mechanisms as a lazy tong. As may beseen in FIGS. 3,5, and 6 the lazy tong assembly, generally designated bythe numeral 54, is made up of a series of alternate links 56 and pairsof links 58. The links 56 and 58 are of equal length and interconnectedby a plurality of elongated pins or rods 60 which have a threaded endportion 62 extending through clearance holes in the ends and centers ofsaid links. The endconnections of the lazy tong assembly are formed bylinks 55 and 57 which are approximately half the length of the links 56and 58. The rods and links are held in assembly by nuts 64, two of whichare threaded over the rod ends at the end connections of the links 56and 58 so that the nuts may be locked in a position permittingrelatively free pivotal movement of the links. The center connections ofeach pair of links 58, links 56 and rods 60 are retained to slide in theelongated slots 52 by a single nut 64 and a retainer 66, as shown inFIG. 5. The rods 60 thereby serve as pivot axes for the lazy tongassembly 54 as well as providing for an important function to beexplained herein. The central center pivot connection of the links 56and 58 is fixed to the frame 50 at 68 as may be seen in FIG. 5. Anadjustable stop 70 mounted in the slot 52 is operable to limit the Iextended position of the lazy tong assembly and thereby limit thespacing between the parallel rods 60.

Referring to FIG. 3, the lazy tong assembly 54 may be extended orcontracted so as to move the spaced parallel rods 60 further apart orcloser together, always with equal spacing between adjacent rods, byactuating means comprising cords 72 and 74 attached to a bracket 76 onthe endmost pivot connection 78. The cord 74 is trained over a sheave 80and terminated in a ring 82 for pulling the cord to extend the lazy tongassembly 54 as desired. The cord 72 terminates in a ring 84 and isoperably to. be pulled to contract the lazy tong assembly to move theparallel rods 60 closely adjacent one another.

Referring to FIG. 1 through 4, the supporting apparatus 48 includes aclamp 86 pivotally connected to the frame 50 by a pin 88. The frame 50is formed with keyhole shaped slots 90 to facilitate pivotal movementwith respect to the clamp. The clamp 86 provides for removably fasteningthe supporting apparatus 48 to the frame channel 14 of the pleatingmachine 10. The clamp 86 includes a handle 92 pivotally connectedthereto by an integral rod portion 94. The rod portion 94 is providedwith adjustable clamping means comprising the threaded machine screws 96threaded transversely through the rod portion 94 and locked in positionby nuts 98. The adjustable screws 96 provide means whereby the handle 92may be pivotally forced to the position shown in FIG. 3 to engage theframe channel 14 with great force'to clamp the supporting apparatus tothe pleating machine with ease. The screws 96 V may be adjustablypositioned to vary the clamping force and I to compensate for differentframe widths encountered on various pleating machines. v

' In FIGS. 1 and 2 the supporting apparatus 48 is shown in position onthe'pleating machine under the suspended drapery panel 42. Although atleast one rod 60 extends into each fold 44 of the drapery panel 42, inFIG. 2 only a representative number of folds are shown and arepresentative number of rods 60 are shown aligned to extend into thefolds 44 as formed by the forms 38 and flls 40 of the pleating machine.As may be seen in FIG. 2 the spaced supporting rods 60 are operable tosupport the drapery panel 42 so that the folds 44 remain substantiallyas formed when the ends of the panel are released by the clampingmechanisms 26 and 28, thereby preserving the finished condition of thepanel. With the arrangement of the rods 60 serving as the pivot axes ofthe lazy tong assembly 54 adjacent folds 44 are supported by two rodsand one rod, respectively. Incomplete folds at the sides of the panelmay be held in position as by a suitable clip 100 on the outermostsupporting rod or rods. As may be seen in FIG.

I, elongated cloth straps 102 may be loosely fastened at 104 and 106 onthe frame 50 to cover the linkage of the lazy tong assembly 54 toprevent the bottoms of the folds from being caught and wrinkled uponcontraction of the linkage assembly.

In operation, upon completion of the pleating process, the supportingapparatus 48 is turned on the side including a roller I08 and rolledinto position transversely on the pleating machine 10 approximatelymidway between the clamping mechanisms 26 and 28, and beneath thedrapery panel 42. The cord 74 is then pulled to exta'id the lazy tongassembly 54 so that the adjacent rods 60 are 'spaced to fit intoadjacent folds 44 of the panel. Normally, the'adjustable stop 70 may beprepositioned'to limit the extended position of the supporting rods 60to conform to the spacing of the forms 38. The supporting apparatus isthen set upright so that the rods 60 are in port rods 60 of thesupporting apparatus 48.

The drapery panel 42 is now free to be removed from the pleating machine10. Large panels of fabric such as draperies are bulky to handle and ifunloading is attempted manually the conditioned folds are usuallywrinkled or distorted. To overcome this problem the supporting apparatus48 provides means for bringing the folds 44 closely adjacent one anotherwithout wrinkling or distortion.

Pulling of the cord 72 will contract the lazy tong assembly 54 wherebythe interconnected links 56, 58 and rods 60 on opposite sides of thecenter pivot 68 will move toward said center pivot until the folds 44are substantially contiguous in side by side relationship. This actionis accomplished while maintaining equal spacing between adjacent rods 60along the length of the frame 50 and keeping the folds 44 from beingdistorted or stretched. The drapery panel is now neatly folded andsnugly held by the now closely spaced adjacent supporting rods. Thedrapery panel in the folded position is, of course, easier to handle andplace on a hanger or similar conveyance.

After actuating the lazy tong assembly to fold the drapery panel 42the'same is unloaded from the pleating machine by pivoting the frame 50into a substantially upright position as shown by the dashed lines ofFIG. 2. The panel will, in the upright position, remain neatly hangingwith all folds in place and with opposite ends of the drapery panel 42,previously clamped by the respective clamping means 26 and 28, hangingfreely on each side of the supporting apparatus 48. The panel may now beeasily removed from the supporting apparatus and placed on anappropriate hanger, or the handle 92 maybe operated to quickly releasethe clamp 86 from the frame of the pleating machine 10 and thesupporting'apparatus itself may be used as a hanger and transportingmeans. The supporting apparatus 48 may be used to carry the draperypanel 42 without danger of the panel slipping due to the snugly heldfolds 44 between the adjacent rods 60. Moreover, use of the supportingapparatus 48 to carry the panel away from the pleating machine to itsfinal hanging place will assure the drapery.

What I claim is:

1. In pleating apparatus for draperies and the like:

spaced apart means operable to releasably suspend a portion of a draperypanel;

means for forming said drapery panel in a plurality of soft folds;

finishing means operable to produce a semipermanent set of said folds insaid drapery panel, and the improvement comprising:

supporting means operable to be removably positioned beneath saidsuspended portion of said drapery panel including a plurality of spacedsupporting members extending into said folds of said drapery panel forsupporting said folds upon release of said drapery panel by saidsuspending means, said supporting means including clamping meanscomprising a handle pivotally attached to said supporting means andoperable to forcibly clamp said supporting means to said pleatingapparatus.

2. In pleating apparatus for draperies and the like:

spaced apart means operable to releasably suspend a portion of a draperypanel;

means for forming said drapery panel in a plurality of soft folds;

finishing means operable to produce a semipermanent set of said folds insaid drapery panel, and the improvement comprising;

supporting means operable to be removably positioned beneath saidsuspended portion of said drapery panel including a plurality ofsupporting members extending into said folds of said drapery panel forsupporting said folds upon release of said drapery panel by saidsuspending means, said supporting means including clamping meanspivotally attached thereto and operable to removably clamp saidsupporting means to said pleating apparatus whereby said supportingmeans may be pivoted from a substantially horizontal position of saidpleating apparatus to a substantially vertical position to unload saiddrapery panel from said pleating apparatus.

3. ln pleating apparatus for draperies and the like:

spaced apart means operable to releasably suspend a portion of a draperypanel;

means for forming said drapery panel in a plurality of soft folds;

finishing means operable to produce a semipermanent set of said folds insaid drapery panel, and the improvement comprising:

supporting means operable to be positioned beneath said suspendedportion of said drapery panel comprising a lazy tong including aplurality of spaced parallel rods at least one rod extending into eachof said folds for supporting said folds upon release of said draperypanel by said suspending means and linkage means interconnectingsaidrods and operable to move said rods relative to each other alwaysmaintaining equal spacing between adjacent rods to bring said foldscloser together than as formed by said forming means.

4. The invention set forth in claim 3 wherein:

said spaced parallel rods comprise the pivot axes of said lazy tong.

5. In pleating apparatus for draperies and the like:

spaced apart means operable to releasably suspend a portion of a draperypanel;

means for forming said drapery panel in a plurality of soft folds;

finishing means operable to produce a semipermanent set of said folds insaid drapery panel, and the improvement comprising:

supporting means operable to be positioned beneath said suspendedportion of said drapery panel including a plurality of spaced supportingmembers at least one of said plurality of members extending into each ofsaid folds, and said supporting means includes means operable to movesaid spaced supporting members relative to each other to bring saidfolds in said drapery panel closer together than as formed by saidforming means.

1. In pleating apparatus for draperies and the like: spaced apart meansoperable to releasably suspend a portion of a drapery panel; means forforming said drapery panel in a plurality of soft folds; finishing meansoperable to produce a semipermanent set of said folds in said draperypanel, and the improvement comprising: supporting means operable to beremovably positioned beneath said suspended portion of said draperypanel including a plurality of spaced supporting members extending intosaid folds of said drapery panel for supporting said folds upon releaseof said drapery panel by said suspending means, said supporting meansincluding clamping means comprising a handle pivotally attached to saidsupporting means and operable to forcibly clamp said supporting means tosaid pleating apparatus.
 2. In pleating apparatus for draperies and thelike: spaced apart means operable to releasably suspend a portion of adrapery panel; means for forming said drapery panel in a plurality ofsoft folds; finishing means operable to produce a semipermanent set ofsaid folds in said drapery panel, and the improvement comprising;supporting means operable to be removably positioned beneath saidsuspended portion of said drapery panel including a plurality ofsupporting members extending into said folds of said drapery panel forsupporting said folds upon release of said drapery panel by saidsuspending means, said supporting means including clamping meanspivotally attached thereto and operable to removably clamp saidsupporting means to said pleating apparatus whereby said supportingmeans may be pivoted from a substantially horizontal position of saidpleating apparatus to a substantially vertical position to unload saiddrapery panel from said pleating apparatus.
 3. In pleating apparatus fordraperies and the like: spaced apart means operable to releasablysuspend a portion of a drapery panel; means for forming said draperypanel in a plurality of soft folds; finishing means operable to producea semipermanent set of said folds in said drapery panel, and theimprovement comprising: supporting means operable to be positionedbeneath said suspended portion of said drapery panel comprising a lazytong including a plurality of spaced parallel rods at least one rodextending into each of said folds for supporting said folds upon releaseof said drapery panel by said suspending means and linkage meansinterconnecting said rods and operable to move said rods relative toeach other always maintaining equal spacing between adjacent rods tobring said folds closer together than as formed by said forming means.4. The invention set forth in claim 3 wherein: said spaced parallel rodscomprise the pivot axes of said lazy tong.
 5. In pleating apparatus fordraperies and the like: spaced apart means operable to releasablysuspend a portion of a drapery panel; means for forming said draperypanel in a plurality of soft folds; finishing means operable to producea semipermanent set of said folds in said drapery panel, and theimprovement comprising: supporting means operable to be positionedbeneath said suspended portion of said drapery panel including aplurality of spaced supporting members at least one of said plurality ofmembers extending into each of said folds, and said supporting meansincludes means operable to move said spaced supporting members relativeto each other to bring said folds in said drapery panel closer togetHerthan as formed by said forming means.